Rep. Cory Bush, D-Mo., lost the primary, giving the pro-Israel group another victory against a member of a progressive “caucus” of lawmakers.
St. Louis District Attorney Wesley Bell Bush defeated NBC News projects. Bell is expected to carry Missouri’s deep-blue 1st Congressional District in November, after a primary that exposed the party’s divisions over Israel, with Bush sharply criticizing the Israeli government and the country’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.
“I’m going to be a progressive member of Congress, but I’m also going to be a hands-on member of Congress,” Bell told NBC News over the weekend. “I understand that we can’t do anything without a majority, and that means we have to work with our fellow Democrats over there, and we have to work with people across the aisle to get things done for this district.” and for this country.”
The United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, spent nearly $9 million on airwaves attacking Bush and boosting Bell. The prosecutor originally ran for the Senate, but decided to challenge Bush in the primary just weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The big fundraiser turned into one of the highest-profile races Tuesday as voters in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington cast ballots for candidates in congressional races.
While Bush’s criticism of Israel has brought millions of dollars to the race, the candidates have launched other attacks on each other. Bell argued that Bush was not an effective congressman, pointing to his votes against the bipartisan infrastructure package and the child tax credit.
Bush, meanwhile, focused his closing argument against Bell on not indicting the police officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014, featuring Brown’s father in the race’s final ad.
The fallout from Brown’s killing boosted the careers of both Bush and Bell—as a prosecutor, Bell focused on police reform, while Bush focused on black lives matter.
Bush has shown that he may not disappear from political life.
“One thing I don’t do is not go,” Bush told NBC News over the weekend, noting that he made unsuccessful runs for Congress before his 2020 primary victory against longtime Democrat William Lacey Clay Jr.
“The thing is, it’s not about me. So do we currently have “Medicare for All”? No. And so what happens on August 6 will not be delivered on that day,” he added later. “So that means I still have to work for these things. I am in the community and I am trying to make a difference for the community. And that’s why I won’t stop just because of the title change.”
Battleground Senate match set
Tuesday’s primary election also set the general election in Michigan’s Senate race, with Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers winning their respective primaries, NBC News projects.
The state will play a decisive role in the battles for the Senate and the White House.
Both Slotkin and Rogers were the front-runners of their parties heading into Tuesday’s primaries. Slotkin, a prolific fundraiser who has spent more than $15 million on the race so far, defeated actor Hill Harper in the Democratic contest.
Rogers won Trump’s endorsement in the race, and some of his top GOP rivals ended their campaigns before the primary. Rogers defeated former Rep. Justin Amash to win the Republican vote.
The Michigan race is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country. President Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by less than 3 percentage points.
Slotkin’s Senate run also opened up his competitive 7th District, and the parties have coalesced around two former state senators in the race to replace him: Republican Tom Barrett, who lost a close race to Slotkin two years ago, and Democrat Curtis Hertel.
In another House battleground, Republicans have tapped Dr. Prasnath Reddy to face Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids in Kansas’ competitive 3rd District. Davids built a financial lead in the race, with about $2.8 million in his campaign account before the primary, compared to $696,000 for Reddy.
Trump support watch
Former state Attorney General Derek Schmidt won the GOP primary to replace retiring Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner in Kansas’ red 2nd District, The Associated Press projects. Schmidt received endorsements from Trump and an outside group, Conservatives for American Excellence.
It’s one of several Tuesday primaries Trump has endorsed, including a rare Republican in Washington who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 and is still in Congress. GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse faces a pair of challengers backed by Trump in the top two primaries of all parties.
Trump also won Missouri’s deep-red 3rd District, where state Sen. Bob Onder won the Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer.
It attracted millions of dollars in initial foreign spending. The conservative Growth Action Club backed the leader, two establishment groups active in other GOP primariesConservatives for American Excellence and America Leads Action Inc. ran ads attacking him.